Testing and Teaching: Judges 2:20-3:6

Four years ago, my wife began her career as a high school English teacher. As a result, we see education from a unique perspective. We have had many discussions on teaching, testing, grading, and classroom management. Several times standardized testing has been a discussion.  

A standardized test comprises a set of common questions for students to answer with the purpose of assessment.  For example, the reading part of the test will help teachers understand what the reading level of a certain grade is at the time of the test.  The results enable them to adjust what they are teaching so that the students can improve on a particular subject. When I was in school, standardized tests didn’t bother as much as tests that determined my grade. 

During my college and seminary days, I had professors that tested every class. I will confess, I spent most of my time cramming for a test about fifteen minutes before class. I didn’t really enjoy tests, but I understood their purpose. If a professor or teacher didn’t test, I don’t believe I would pay attention unless the subject captivated my attention. Tests also reminded me that the class has purpose and meaning.  

If you think about it, we can’t limit teaching and testing to the realm of education only. Teaching and testing characterize every aspect of life. This is especially true of the Christian life.  Open your Bible, Old and New Testaments, and you will find God causes and allows teaching and testing in the journey of faith. In the believer's life teaching and testing that takes place daily.  

The daily teaching and testing experienced by believers are not purposeless or meaningless. If they were, God would come across as a cruel God. We find a highly explicit text concerning the purpose and meaning of such experiences in chapters two and three of the book of Judges. Unfortunately, the text takes place in a period of Israel’s history that reveals the apostasy of God’s people repeatedly.    

The book of Judges comprises two introductions. The first introduction starts at verse one of chapter one and ends at verse five of chapter five. The second introduction begins at verse six of chapter two and ends with verse six of chapter three. Why two introductions? The writer introduces the book from two perspectives. The first is from the perspective of Israel, and the second from the perspective of God.  

From God’s perspective, we are able to see the outline of the book of Judges. It’s a downward spiral that begins with God’s people turning from God, followed by God’s judgment upon his people, resulting in God’s people crying out, and God answering the cries with mercy by providing a judge to deliver them. This pattern runs to the end of the book.  Interestingly, this pattern of God’s judgment of mercy is best understood when we look at the cross of Jesus Christ, for it shows the judgment and mercy of God in the death of Jesus Christ.  

In setting the context of our text, we will need to understand God’s people have entered the Promise Land through the leadership of Joshua.  Unfortunately, they did not remove all the inhabitants of the land, as God commanded, resulting in God allowing the inhabitants to live among the Israelites. Leaving the inhabitants was the consequence of their sin. You could say that their sin became their reward.  God would not waste this tragedy. He determined to use the enemy in the land to test and teach his people. 

Notice verses twenty through twenty-two of the second chapter of Judges, “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them.” God will use the inhabitants to test Israel. Again in verse one of chapter three, “Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them.” And again in verse four, “They were for the testing of Israel.” 

How do the enemies of ancient Israel in the Promise Land translate into our modern-day experiences? Every day, we face enemies that attack our faith, our finances, our families, our relationships, our courage, and the list goes on and on.  These enemies come to invade our lives from the inside, the outside, and the unseen, usually through circumstances, situations, and struggles, which God uses for teaching and testing. Therefore, it is important for us to understand these enemies and their purpose and meaning in our lives. As we look at the chosen passage, we notice how the Lord tests us to teach us. 

The Lord tests us to teach us.  

In verse one of chapter three, we read, “Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.”  We see some purpose for tests in these two verses.  There is a connection between “test,” and “know.”  Testing is used to teach.  Here, the lesson was about how to fight in a war.  

However, the lessons taught were more than just tactical procedures for war. I’m reminded of the four-week training that they required me to take when I became a chaplain in the correctional setting. I spent the time learning how to defend myself when a situation called for it. The greatest lesson I learned is the fact that I’m a chaplain, and if a riot breaks out in the prison, I’m running.  The lessons were for protection only, and a way for the state to avoid lawsuits.  God’s training for war was much more theological than tactical.  What God wanted to know from the wars with the inhabitants was a greater knowledge of his person.  

His person

By this, I mean his character and nature.  God left in the land as a judgment for the Israelites’ disobedience.  Every war they fought with these inhabitants would be a reminder of God’s judgment upon their sin. The reason God judged their sin is his holy nature.  

God is without sin, holy. Therefore, he must deal with sin. Tests that come as discipline for sin remind us of God’s holy nature. We never sin and get away with it. God disciplines his children, which is a display of his loving nature.  

God disciplines his children for our own holiness. You might be one of those parents that don’t discipline your children, but God is not. If you don’t discipline your child can you say you love your child? God loves his children, and he disciplines his children because he loves them.  God’s love puts our ultimate and greatest good at the top of his agenda.  God tests us so we can know his nature and character, but God is not wanting us to have just head knowledge of who he is. No, at the heart of these tests is God’s desire to teach us about his presence.  

His presence

God’s desire for his children is a close and personal relationship with them. It is all about relationships and constantly walking and enjoying his presence. God was to teach us so we can know, experientially, his presence in our lives. Some of the greatest tests God has allowed me to experience have been the greatest moments of experiencing his tangible presence in my life. Yes, he teaches us to know him more intimately through the invasions of the inside, outside, and unseen enemies in our lives.  And while we experience his presence, we also experience his power.   

His power

God wanted Israel to know war, not in the traditional tactical way, but his way.  When we fight God’s fight we don’t rely on our own power, but his power.  We don’t trust in our abilities, but his abilities. God allows tests to teach us to trust in his power to overcome the trials that the test brings.   

When Pharaoh and the Egyptian army had Moses and the Israelites up against the Red Sea, God said, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Trust the Lord, for it is his fight and his battle. 

When an elite army came against King Jehoshaphat and Juda, the king and Judah poured out their hearts to God. There was no way they could beat this army with their own resources or resolve. They cried out to God, and he told them to stand firm and watch.  The next morning, Jehoshaphat and his army stood before the enemy and worshiped, and while they worshiped God destroyed the army.  

We learn through tests we don’t fight with our own abilities or strengths but by the power of God.  We learn to cast our concerns on the Lord and watch him sustain us, knowing that he will not allow his children to stumble. We learn through tests that we when battles not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.  

I wonder how many times God has brought events into my life for the purpose of teaching me something? Do I look at teachable moments as chance, or do I see them from the providential hand of God?  I imagine when I stand before God and he replays my life he will probably show me some teachable moments that I missed.  

As a father, I have learned that everything I try to teach my children won’t always be accepted by them. The many times I have warned them of a dead-end road, but they took it anyway.  It causes me to sit back and think about my relationship with the Lord, and I imagine he feels the same way I do when I miss his teachable moments he brings through tests, and how I try to do things in my flesh, and not his power. 

How is God working in your life? What methods is he using to test and teach? Are you learning more about his person, his presence, and his power? If we are not careful, we will miss out on a teachable moment that God uses for our ultimate good.  Next, we notice how the Lord tests us to assess us.  

The Lord tests us to assess us. 

Earlier, I spoke about standardized testing and how its purpose is to assess the students.  Likewise, God tests us to assess us, not for himself, he already knows what’s in us, but for ourselves.  The one thing God wants to assess is our allegiance to him. 

Allegiance 

In chapter two, verse twenty-two, we read, “in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” Notice also in chapter three, verse four, “They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.” What does God want from us? He wants obedience, faithfulness to our relationship with him.

True worship of God demands exclusive allegiance.  It’s amazing how tests will often reveal where our trust lives. When we lose our paycheck, where is our trust? When a pandemic hits, where is our trust? It’s stunning how a test reveals where our allegiance lies. Do we trust in God’s promises? Or do we act like spiritual illiterates? Do we believe God exists and believe in his promises? Or do we act as a functional atheist?   Tests have a way of showing where our allegiance is.  

Unfortunately, verses five and six reveal the Israelites failed to pass the test. Instead of fighting the enemy, they slept with the enemy.  Literally, they intermarried with the inhabitants and started serving their gods.  They received a big F. 

Our stories don’t have to end the same way. In fact, there is another test found in the Old Testament, one passed with flying colors. It’s found in Genesis chapter twenty-two, verse one, “After these things God tested Abraham and said, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take you son, you only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains on which I shall tell you.” 

What a test! God wanted Abraham to take the promised child, Isaac, and offer him up as a burnt offering. The rest of the chapter reveals that he passed the test. And because of his exclusive allegiance to God, the Lord provided a ram to replace Isaac as the burnt offering.  He passed the assessment.  How? Abraham in obedience trusted the Lord and drew upon the resources of his almighty love.  

How can we pass the tests that come our way every day? Daily, we have to take our lives to the altar of God and offer them up to God as a holy and acceptable sacrifice to him, giving him our full allegiance. When we do, God will bless us beyond what we ever think or imagine.   

Recently, I observed an interaction between a little girl, around five years old, and her father.  The girl wanted to carry an enormous box.  She said, “Daddy, I want to carry the box.” She could pick it up, but it was too big for her to walk with. Her father responds, “No, you will fall trying to carry it.” She kept on insisting, saying that she had a plan.  The father gave in and she picked up the box.  She then told her father, “Okay daddy, now you carry me.”  

God, doesn't just want to take our burdens. No, he wants to carry us and give us all we need from his resources. All we have to do is give our allegiance to him.   Will you come to the altar today? 

   

Walking in the Dark: Isaiah 50:10-11

In the Summer of 2007, God introduced me to a term I was unfamiliar with. Looking back, it was something I prayed for but didn’t fully grasp what I was praying. The prayer, “Lord, do whatever it takes to make me more like you.” The answer, “The dark night of the soul.” The answer came not from a class or a book, but through personal experience.  

If you have ever gone through a season of spiritual dryness and darkness when God seemed silent and far away no matter how hard you tried to reconnect, then you have experienced a “dark night” experience.  This experience can be long and hard, especially for the many Christians who don’t understand it or how to handle it. 

Since the summer of 2007, I have experienced more occasions of this dark season, the most recent being within the last five years. And each season seemed darker than the season before. I would love to tell you that each season is easier to handle and understand than the previous, but that’s not the case at all.  We find the reason in God’s purpose for the experience. 

The Lord uses the dark night of the soul experience to grow us and conform us into the image of his Son.  It makes us more aware of his grace and mercy, while also revealing sinful patterns and beliefs that hinder our growth.  As painful as the experience can be, it is one of the prominent ways God grows us in holiness and wholeness.  

The dark night experience for God’s people is inevitable.  You find it in the scriptures. Read the prayers in the book of Psalms and you will find King David struggling with this season. The first verse of Psalm thirteen reads, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Read the biographies and testimonies of Christians throughout history and you will find the same inevitable experiences.   

The dark night is also unexpected. And because it is unexpected, many of God’s people don’t understand it or know exactly how to handle it.  So, what do we do when the Lord knocks the props out from under us and caused the lights to go out?  The prophet Isaiah gives great truths for walking through the dark.    

In the fiftieth chapter of Isaiah, we find two verses, nine and ten, talking about the inevitable and unexpected experience of walking through the darkness, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.”  

The Hebrew construct of verse ten suggests that the person who fears God and obeys his voice is the one who continues to trust in and rely on the Lord, even though he is walking through a time of darkness.  In fact, the verse implies that we know the person following God more, not by how they walk in the light, but in the darkness. What do we know about the person following God in darkness First, we know that they keep walking when the lights go out.  

Keep walking when the lights go out and you can’t see.

One Sunday morning early, during my first pastorate, I received a knock at the door of the parsonage, waking me up from my sleep. It was a church member letting me know that the neighbor’s son across the street passed away in an automobile accident.  He was driving down an unlit country road, and his lights went out. Instead of stopping, he tried to navigate the road, causing him to miss a curve and rolling his truck.  In a situation like this, it is wise to stop and pullover. It is the right thing to do.  

However, what is true of the physical realm is not for the spiritual. You should, you must stop going in the physical ring, but it is a terrible mistake to stop walking in the spiritual realm.  

Think about it. When darkness comes upon us and there is no light, you're not sure where you are going, you're not even sure where you are.  You can’t see the obstacles in front of you.  You have no spiritual feeling, and you can’t see what God is doing. This is not the time to stop.  You must keep walking with the Lord through the darkness.   

The man or woman that fears the Lord and obeys the Lord doesn’t stop walking with the Lord because there is no light.  They keep on walking.  They keep on obeying.  They keep on seeking.  They keep on praying.  They keep on giving.  They keep on witnessing. They keep on keeping on even though it’s dark.  

One of my dear friends, who also served on staff in my last pastorate, is a licensed pilot. One day we were talking about the training he went through to secure his license.  It intrigued me when he told me about learning to fly by the instruments, something that every pilot must learn before they receive their license.  When a pilot flies into darkness, such as a dark cloud, he will lose his points of reference. It becomes very dangerous to trust in one’s physical perception. Even though it might feel like he is flying straight, he could descend to the ground, not knowing it. He must learn to read and trust the instruments, and not his thoughts or feelings.  

In the same manner, the Christian must learn to follow the instruments of God’s word when walking through the darkness. We see this truth in verse ten, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant?” The servant that Isaiah is referring to is the servant in the previous verses, four through nine.  The servant of the previous verses is Jesus. We keep walking even though it’s dark because we are looking to the instruments of God’s word and it becomes the lamp unto our feet, and light for our path.  Second, people who follow God in the darkness know that they should not make their own light to dispel the darkness.

Don’t make your own light to dispel the darkness. 

This second point is the most important point you need to grasp today because it is a temptation that occurs when we discover ourselves in the dark.  When the lights go out at my house, the first thing I do is look for the light. I light candles and look for flashlights.  However, when the lights go out in our walk with God, the last thing we want to do is to make our own light.  Isaiah says in verse eleven, “Behold, all you who kindle a fire, and who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.” The Living Bible says, “But see here, you who live in your own light, and warm yourselves from your own fires and not from God’s; you will live among sorrows.”  

The Lord is telling us we make an enormous mistake when we try to make our own light.  Why? It’s a mistake because we are trying to manufacture our own light to fulfill the purpose of God in our life.  We do not want to make our own light.  

First, when we make our own light we don’t realize that God has allowed the darkness in our lives.  Darkness does not dispel light. It is light that dispels darkness. If it is dark in our experience it on account that God has allowed that darkness into our lives.  If you are walking with the Lord and darkness comes upon your walk, it’s because the Lord has removed the light.  

When God made the first day in the book of Genesis, he made day and night. The night is as much from God as in the day. What I find fascinating that there are some things you can’t see unless it’s dark, things like the moon and stars. Likewise, in the spiritual realm, there are things you can’t see unless the lights go out.   

Second, when we make our own light to replace God’s it only makes things worse.  The Living Bible says making our own light will cause you to, “live among sorrows.”  I could pull out a lengthy list of sorrows in my life that resulted from me making my light to replace God’s. But I believe it would have a greater impact if we turned to the myriad of examples in the scriptures. 

Three chapters into the book of Genesis and you will find Adam and Eve making their own light because they wanted to “be like God.”  All of humanity has been living in the sorrows of that mistake.  

Abraham received the promise of a child from God, one that he gladly believed in.  However, when the darkness of waiting on God to fulfill the promise was more than he and Sarah could bear, they lit their own light and the result was Ishmael. Again, a sorrow we still experience to this very day.   

Moses tried to light his own light when he killed the Egyptian soldier, causing him to flee for his life, and setting the deliverance of God back forty years.  And there are many more examples, but I believe this proves the point. Don’t make your own light to dispel the darkness.  It will only lead to sorrow.  Third, the person walking in the dark with God trust and relies on Jesus in the dark.

Trust and rely on Jesus in the dark.  

In verse ten it says, “trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.”  When we trust and rely on the Lord in the darkness, we are following the Lord’s example. Notice verse six in this same chapter, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.”  This is a prophecy that was fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus. This is the darkest moment of Christ’s life. What did Jesus do? He trusted God to help him and contend for him. He didn’t take things into his own hands but entrusted himself to the Father.    

Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith. He has gone before us and conquered the dark night of the soul.  Therefore, we should trust and rely on him when it’s dark and we can’t see. 

The Hebrew word translated “rely on” can also translate “stay.” It means to lean for support. The person who relies on is God leans on him for support.  The root of that word is found in Psalm twenty-three, verse four, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” They translate the root word, “comfort.” The rod and staff hold me up. They encourage me. They support me. When we are in the darkness, we need a rod and staff to support us, and that rod and staff is Jesus.   

Some things you can only see in the darkness. When you are in the darkness, you need someone to support you as you walk, and that someone is Jesus.  One person has said, “you don’t know how much you need Jesus until Jesus is all you have.” Interestingly, we can see Jesus more in the dark than we can when we are in the light.  

Every spring, when we are working in the yard and flowerbeds, my wife reminds me of a mistake I made a few years ago. I try to forget about it, but she always reminds me I killed one of her favorite flowers, the moonflower.  The moonflower got its name because the beautiful white or purple tubular flower blooms at night and remains open until the morning light touches the flower.  The beauty of the moonflower is dependant upon the darkness of night.  

Much of the fruit of our spiritual life is dependant upon the darkness of night. Therefore, it is important to keep walking with God when the lights go out and you can’t see what God is doing.  Don’t give in to the temptation of making your own light because you will only regret it. Trust and rely on Jesus. He is the light and support that will keep you going in the right direction.   The darkness of obedience has so much more light than the shining light of leaning on your own understanding.  

In the dark, you’ll find Jesus. When you do, as the old song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” 

Gifts From God

Sometimes in the midst of intense struggles God will send you gifts to let you know that he hears you, and he is with you. Last week, God gave me two gifts all in one day. I was prayer walking early one morning and found myself wresting with regrets about past decisions. I was struggling with those decisions and wondering if I could move forward in my walk with God. While I am crying out to God in prayer, a song comes on my headphones that basically gave the answer I needed. The song was "The Blood" by Shane and Shane. It speaks about how the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins. The moment the song started playing, I knew it was from God. It was his way of saying, "I love you, and I forgive you. Move forward." I started weeping with joy knowing that God was working in me and conforming me into the image of his Son.

Another struggle I was having in my prayer time was my preaching. I must admit that the last few months I have been under attack in the area of preaching. Some of the attacks have been external, and others internal. Within an hour of my prayer struggle with God, I received an email that I knew was a gift from God, one that encouraged me to persevere in my preaching.

I have decided to start praying for God to send little gifts to others just to let them know that he hears them and is with them.